Heavy Metal
"Heavy Metal" is the thirty-sixth episode of . It depicts the debut of the character Steel. After the failure of his previous battle suit, John Henry Irons has decided to work on a new suit, safer than the last one. This suit is soon put to the test when Metallo returns and nearly kills Superman. Now Irons has to don his suit to try and defeat the evil cyborg. Plot John Henry Irons carefully removes a steel helmet from a furnace and cools it in a bucket of water. He then adds the helmet to a full suit of powered armor. His niece Natasha inquires if he's ready to use the suit to be a hero but he claims that he still needs to do more testing. A news report comes on and tells about the appearance of a super strong villain that has been robbing various banks in the area and this thief supposedly has ties to Intergang. Elsewhere, a bank is being robbed by three masked men. One of the men displays incredible strength by tearing the safe open with his bare hands. An alarm is sounded and the police come to foil the robbery. However, the strong member of the gang manages to make short work of the police. Back near his lab, Irons tests an arm-mounted laser and sees that it works. The chase goes past him and he decides to intervene. He blasts out a tire on the thieves' truck and manages to deflect their bullets with his armored armband. However, a flaw in the armor causes the laser to break. While Irons tries to fix it, the thieves find him and prepare to shoot him. Fortunately, Superman shows up and saves Irons. Another thief shows up and feigns surrender. However, when Superman tries to apprehend him, the thief punches him. The thief then removes his mask revealing that he's really Metallo. Superman starts fighting Metallo using various weapons that allow him to keep his distance. For a time this seems to work, but Metallo shows off a new feature: the ability to fire beams of Kryptonite radiation. With this new ability Metallo manages to capture Superman and begins to bombard him with radiation. Irons tries to stop him but is unsuccessful. Fortunately, Natasha rams into Metallo with the van hurling him away. Irons grabs Superman and the group drives off. Unfortunately, Metallo manages to capture a police car and gives chase. After some stunt driving, the group manages to escape and get to Irons' lab. Irons carries Superman out of the van causing a stir in the neighborhood but they still manage to get into the lab. In the lab, Irons puts Superman under a light generator to feed him yellow sunlight. Metallo shows up in the neighborhood and demands that the people tell him where Superman is. However, no one speaks up. In response, Metallo and his men start causing random destruction. The people manage to hold out for a time but are eventually forced to talk. Fortunately, before Metallo can get to Superman, Irons comes out in full armor and introduces himself as "Steel." Metallo's men attack Steel but he easily manages to defeat them. Metallo then decides to join in the fight himself. He is a lot harder than his men and the fight eventually brings him into Irons' lab. The fight continues but Metallo proves to be more than a match for the new super hero. He manages to trap Steel and grab hold of his hammer. He nearly hits Steel with his own hammer but Superman intervenes. The victory is short-lived however, Metallo resumes blasting Superman with his Kryptonite and this times it seems like he'll finish his enemy off. But before Metallo can finish the job, Steel intervenes and hurls his hammer directly into Metallo's chest destroying the Kryptonite rock. Superman recovers and thanks Steel for his help. Continuity * Irons and Superman both refer to their last conversation in "Prototype," which introduced the precursor to Irons's battlesuit. * Bibbo Bibbowski mentions (and takes some credit for) the time Superman fought Titano in "Monkey Fun." * Metallo states that he was rescued from Raknaveek by Intergang after Superman left him there, buried under solidified lava without his Kryptonite battery, in "Action Figures." Background Information Trivia * Though this version of Steel is based off the character in the comics, his origin is different. In the comics, Doctor Irons hadn't built his suit until the Death of Superman. * Another difference of this version of Steel is that he doesn't wear the cape and shield of Superman. * Although Natasha becomes another incarnation of Steel in the comics, she never does in the cartoons. * The 5 on Irons' shirt is a reference to Superman's S shield. * Cousin Spunky from Baby Doll can be seen in the crowd when Irons' car stops. Cast Quotes Category:Superman: The Animated Series episodes